E98 
. B6 W3 



INDIAN NOTES 
AND MONOGRAPHS 




A SERIES OF PUBLICA- 
TIONS RELATING TO THE 
AMERICAN ABORIGINES 



TYPES OF CANOES ON 
PUGET SOUND 

#T. WATERMAN 

AND 

GERALDINE COFFIN • 



NEW YORK 
MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN 
HEYE FOUNDATION 

1920 



Monograph 



This series of Indian Notes and Mono- 
graphs is devoted primarily to the publica- 
tion of the results of studies by members of 
the staff of the Museum of the American 
Indian, Heye Foundation, and is uniform 
with Hispanic Notes and Monographs, 
published, by the Hispanic Society of 
America, with which organization this 
Museum is in cordial cooperation. 



Gift 
Publisher 

aw g m 



TYPES OF CANOES ON 
PUGET SOUND 



T. T. WATERMAN 

AND 

GERALDINE COFFIN 



5 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Introduction 7 

Specialization of the North Pacific Canoe 

into Different Models 10 

Points of Interest in the Various Types. . . 14 

The War Canoe 14 

The "Freight Canoe" 17 

The "Trolling Canoe" 18 

The "Shovel-nose Canoe" 19 

The "One-man Canoe" 21 

The "Children's Canoe" 22 

Native Terms for the Parts of the Canoe . . 23 

Distribution of the Various Types 29 

Conclusions 36 

Bibliography 39 

Notes 42 



INDIAN NOTES 



TYPES OF CANOES ON PUGET 
SOUND 

By 

T. T. Waterman and Geraldine Coeein 

INTRODUCTION 

HE canoes and the canoe manufac- 
ture of the North Pacific area 
have already received a fair 
amount of attention in ethno- 
graphical literature. 1 Many sizes and shapes 
of craft are in use, most of which have not 
been described in detail. All North Pacific 
canoes from Mount St Elias in Alaska to 
Eel river in northern California are, to 
quote the Handbook? of a dugout type. The 
area of Puget sound lies in a general way 
toward the center of this region, and in this 
vicinity the largest variety of canoes seems 



INDIAN NOTES 




8 


PUGET SOUND CANOES 




to be in use. Our present purpose is to 
describe the types of canoes found at the 
present time on Puget sound proper, and 
then to outline, so far as is possible on the 
basis of scanty information, the distribu- 
tion of these types into other regions. 

The specimens on which this discussion 
is based were collected for the Museum of 
the American Indian, Heye Foundation, in 
the immediate vicinity of Seattle. The 
native terms for the various models and for 
the parts of the canoes are in the "Du- 
wamish" dialect of Salish. The sounds oc- 
curring in this and the other Salish dialects 
spoken on the upper part of Puget sound are 
represented in the following tabulation. 

VOWELS 

i, L u, V* 
e, e o, o 
A 

a a 

i, as in machine u, as in rule 
t, as in pin u, as in full 
e, asin/e/e o, as in note 
e, as in met o, as ou in ought 
a, asm hat a, as in bar 
A, as in but 




INDIAN NOTES 



INTRODUCTION 



DIPHTHONGS 

ai, as in aisle oi, as in boil 

SEMIVOWELS 

w, y, substantially as in English 

CONSONANTS 



c . . Labial- 
^ t0 P \ized stop 



Contin- 
uant 



Labial 

Dental 

Alveolar 

Palatal 

Velar 

Glottal 



kw'j 
qw'i 



{frica- 
tive 



Lateral 



A f rica- 

tive 
lateral 



Of these sounds the following need, for 
the casual reader, some explanation. Surd 
I (written L) is an I produced without the 
help of the vocal cords. The symbol c has 
approximately the value of sh in she. The 
digraph tc is sounded like ch in church. 
The symbols in those columns which are 
headed "fortis" represent exploded or 
cracked consonants, produced with hard 
pressure of the tongue, followed by an 



AND MONOGRAPHS 



10 PUGET SOUND CANOES 

! 




abrupt release. The sound is quite sharp, 
markedly different from anything in English. 
The "velar" sounds likewise seem quite 
strange to English-speaking people; they, 
are produced by making contact between 
the tongue and the back part of the palate 
(the velum). The glottal stop (') repre- 
sents a catch which checks the breath in 
the throat (larynx). Two sounds resem- 
bling English h seem to exist, one of them 
very weak, represented here by °. Su- 
perior letters represent whispered or weakly 
articulated sounds. 

SPECIALIZATION OF THE NORTH 
PACIFIC CANOE INTO DIFFERENT 
MODELS 

In the year 1806 Lewis and Clark noted 
that the Indians on Columbia river possessed 
a number of different types or models of 

/>o n aoc ° Amrviinr tyiavp vp^ori f nnf n f\vc 
LdllUcb. jTVlIlUilg 1I1UIC icLCIlL clULIlUIb, 

Boas, 4 Gibbs, 5 Swan, 6 Niblack/ and Curtis, 8 
have made observations to a similar effect. 
It may be relied on, therefore, that in the 
whole area which lies between Columbia 
river and southern Alaska, the canoe has 




INDIAN NOTES 



WATERMAN — CANOES 



PL. I 




DIAGRAM REPRESENTING THE SIX TYPES OF CANOES ON PUGET 
SOUND 

(a, the "war canoe''; b, the "freight canoe;" c, the "trolling canoe" ; d, 
the "shovel-nose canoe"; e, the "one-man canoe"; /, the "children's canoe," 
used by children and as a knockabout.) 



DIFFERENT MODELS 


11 


been evolved into a number of highly spe- 
cialized forms. Various writers, however, 
classify canoes in somewhat different ways. 
Gibbs, and Lewis and Clark seem to imag- 
ine that the various forms are characteristic 
of different tribes. With Curtis and Nib- 
lack the. essential thing in classification 
seems to be a matter of size. Boas alone 
has given the proper weight to differences in 
form. 9 On Puget sound at the present 
f ime there are six types of canoes in use, 
,hich are distinguished by the Indians not 
)n account of their size but by differences 
in the shape of the 'hull. The variation in 
shape is very wide. On these waters one 
type of canoe is built for going to sea, and 
the lines of the hull are designed with the 
idea of enabling the craft to ride waves 
without shipping water. Every inch of the 
model is carefully calculated to keep it 
"dry." No better craft for rough water, 
by the way, has ever been devised. The 
canoe rides the combers better than the 
white man's boat. This was noted by 
Lewis and Clark 10 more than a hundred 
years ago, and similar comments are made 




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12 


PUGET SOUND CANOES 




today, even by men who follow the sea. A 
second type of canoe is designed for use on 
rivers and lakes. The bow and stern of this 
second model are cut off square, making the 
craft very convenient for poling. In spear- 
ing salmon in the streams, also, a spearsman 
can ride on the extreme tip of the bow and 
strike fish almost under his feet, while a 
companion paddles. This canoe is of little 
use in open waters. The salt-water vil- 
lagers take the fish by means of nets and 
traps only. Each of the types in this way 
has its own particular uses. The series as a 
whole is an example of high specialization 
in a seafaring mode of existence. 

Characteristic specimens of each of the 
six types used on Puget sound are illustrated 
in the accompanying diagram (pi. i). In 
order to bring out differences in outline, the 
drawings have been reduced to one length. 

In actual practice each model of canoe is 
made in a large range of sizes, a matter 
which can hardly be presented in a diagram. 
Specimens of model a (pi. i) exist which are, 
for example, only 16 ft. long, while one other 
specimen of the same model exists which 




INDIAN NOTES 



DIFFERENT MODELS 


13 


has a length of 80 ft. Model b in the dia- 
gram is usually made of fairly good size, in 
the neighborhood of 22 ft. long; but there 
is great variation in specimens. Model c 
is always small, and model / is never very 
large. We have not examined a large 
enough number of canoes to make it worth 
while to publish the measurements taken. 
The specimens from which the drawings 

^ 

Fig. 1. — Diagram showing the outline of the Alaska" 
canoe, used by the Kwakiutl, Tsimshian, and Haida. 
It is occasionally seen on Puget sound. (After a diagram 
in Boas, 1909.) 

were made were collected in the immediate 
neighborhood of Seattle and are in the 
Museum of the American Indian, Heye 
Foundation. 

An additional type, the great " Alaska" 
canoe, called by the Salish tsaba'xad, is 
sometimes seen on the sound. Such canoes 
came down from the north, manned usually 
by Haida from the Queen Charlotte islands, 




AND MONOGRAPHS 





14 PUGET SOUND CANOES 



or by Nootka from the west coast of Van- 
couver island; occasionally by people of 
other tribes. These canoes were not used 
by the Puget Sound people, and were 
looked on with some curiosity. Their out- 
line is shown in fig. 1 (after Boas). 

POINTS OF INTEREST IN THE VARIOUS 
TYPES 

A— The "War Canoe" (do'txs) 

The Songish about Victoria, B. C, have 
this model/which they c&ll.a'tqEs? 1 Its most 
characteristic features, both there and here, 
are a prominent and lofty bow and stern. 
These consist, on Puget sound, of separate 
sections hewn out of cedar and fitted care- 
fully into their places on the hull. They are 
fastened there by pegs of cedar (sfA'st&d, 
the word now applied to nails) and lashings 
of twisted cedar withes (sti'dAgw&t), and the 
joint is watertight without being "pitched" 
(see Swan, 1868, for the method of fitting). 
Artistically, the shape of the prow strongly 
suggests an animal's head, and gives the 
canoe (which is exquisite in design) an air 
of alertness, as though it were moving of its 



INDIAN NOTES 



WAR CANOE 15 

I 

i 

own accord. From the practical standpoint 
these elevated additions to the hull are de- 
signed to throw aside the seas. The naked 
hull without these bow and stern pieces 
would soon fill in rough water. The pieces 
seem so slender and inadequate that an 
observer would doubt their effectiveness for 
such a practical end. The answer is that 
in the course of generations they have been 
reduced to the most slender proportions 
which will give the necessary protection, 
and they are wonderfully effective in aid- 
ing the actual navigation of the canoe. 
Many Indians and whites who have followed 
the sea tell us that this type of canoe ships 
less water in a storm than any craft in the 
world. If we are looking for a catchword, 
we may call this the ocean-going canoe." 

A number of other terms have been ap- 
plied to this class of vessel. A popular 
term in the Northwest is the word "Chin- 
ook." Wd find, for example, the "Chinook" 
wind, the "Chinook" jargon, and "Chin- 
ook" salmon. "Chinook" is also applied 
by Indians and whites to the type of hull 
just described, and appears in that sense! 



AND MONOGRAPHS 



16 


PUGET SOUND CANOES 




in the works of Swan and Boas. The term, 
bearing in mind, of course, that it is used 
in a general sense and is not necessarily to 
be associated with the Chinook tribe proper, 
living at the mouth of the Columbia, is dis- 
tinctive, and has the advantage of usage 
behind it. Locally, on Puget sound, the 
model goes commonly by this name. This 
same type of hull is found in use by all the 
tribes from Columbia river northward to 
the Quatsino, living at the northern end of 
Vancouver island. 12 North of this area, 
among the Kwakuitl and Tsimshian, Haida 
and Tlingit, the sea-going canoe is different, 
and is of the type illustrated in fig. 1. Nib- 
lack 13 and Boas 14 have noted the distinction 
between the sea-going canoes of the south 
and those of the north, and Niblack illus- 
trates it with a somewhat misleading figure. 
Niblack calls this northern model the "north 
coast type," while Boas styles it the "Tsim- 
shian" model. The terms "Tsimshian" and 
"Chinook" might well be used as catch- 
words to mark the distinction between the 
two varieties: one found along the coast of 
Alaska and British Columbia, the other 




INDIAN NOTES 



FREIGHT CANOE 


17 


occurring on -the west coast of Vancouver 
island and southward as far, at least, as 
Columbia river. 

B — The ''Freight Canoe" (sti'waL) 

The freight canoe differs in several re- 
spects from the foregoing. It never reaches 
the great size which the first-mentionec 1 
type sometimes attains, though specimens 
exist which are as much as 40 ft. in length. 
The cutwater in this type is vertical, or 
nearly so. This is the point mentioned by 
the Indian informants as the characteris- 
tic thing. The Songish term for this craft, 
sti'uwaitatl, is translated by Boas as "having 
a square bow." I can find no reason for 
this peculiarity, nor advantage in it. An 
extra piece of cedar is 'carved and fitted with 
dowels on the prow of this craft also, "lift- 
ing" the lines of the hull somewhat. This 
piece differs greatly from the pieces fitted 
on the ocean-going canoe. The stern is 
■modeled out of the original Iop* The tin of 

X 1 LKjyi V^IV. Vi V/UL yJ L L 1 1 KJX Xt^XXXCXX XVJi-L . 1 I J L1L/ W X 

the prow is shaped into a "notch" resemb- 
ling an open mouth. This type of canoe is 
used for journeys with household posses- 




AND MONOGRAPHS 





18 


PUGET SOUND CANOES 




sions in quiet waters. In a storm it is not 
particularly safe. 

C— The " Trolling Canoe" (sdA'xwit) 

This craft has a very narrow hull, and 
the bow has more lift than in the preceding 
model. 15 Specimens of this type are usu- 
ally relatively small, designed to carry only 
two or three men. This was the vessel 
used for hunting, for harpooning porpoise 
and otter, and in trolling for fish. The 
model exhibits some elegance of design. 
We may perhaps follow Boas in calling this 
craft the fishing or trolling canoe. A very 
large canoe of this model was called 
sd&ocwi'lus. For hunting the porpoise a very 
swift canoe was needed, for the animal was 
alert, and hard to harpoon. Boas gives a 
complete account of the pursuit, as carried 
on by the Kwakiutl. The term for por- 
poise-hunting on Puget sound is ca'sab. 
The canoe intended for this purpose was 
called casa'bhwlL. It was of the type being 
discussed, but a fine, "clear" model and had 
to be fast. 




INDIAN NOTES 




I 



SHOVEL-NOSE CANOE 19 

I 

D. — The " Shovel-nose Canoe" (tl/ai) 

This type of canoe is called the "shovel- 
nose" because it is cut off square at bow and 
stern and the hull scoops forward like a 
shovel. The Songish visited by Boas have 
the same term, tVlai, but the model pictured 
by Boas has a configuration somewhat dif- 
ferent in certain details from the Puget Sound 
specimens seen. On the sound, the boat 
is hewn from one piece, while the Songish 
are said to add on the flattened end in the 
form of a separate plank. In spite of its 
shape the " shovel-nose" is in appearance 
anything but clumsy. It is excellently de- 
signed for a special purpose. A man may 
stand at the tip-end of bow or stern, and 
push with a pole, in shallow water. The 
people also who live up the rivers depend 
on this type of canoe for the spearing of 
salmon. When the fish are running in the 
rivers, one man paddles in the stern while 
a companion stands at ease out on the 
extreme end of the prow, with his spear 
poised ready for fish. His position there 
is ideal for striking salmon, since he lunges 



AND MONOGRAPHS 



20 PUGET SOUND CANOES 



at fish almost directly under his feet. The 
bow-end of this boat is more slender than 
the stern. This type of boat is useful only 
in quiet waters. A characteristic piece of 
equipment is the canoe pole, he'&qalsLd. 
Such a canoe is fine for sandbanks and shoals 
where the heavy Chinook type, with its 
features designed for protection against 
waves, is largely useless. Far up the rivers 
no canoes other than the shovel-nose 
are seen. The "salt-water" people, or 
" xwaldja'bc" relate with amusement that 
" forest-dwellers," or La'tabc™, that is, the 
people living up the rivers, have only one 
word for canoe. "If it is a sdA'xwiL, or if 
it is a sti'waLj or even if it is a big ao'txs,- 
they call it a 'shovel-nose,' just the same." 

Some of these " fresh-water" Indians some 
years ago came voyaging down to Port 
Washington inlet, near the navy yard at 
Bremerton, in a shovel-nose canoe. In try- 
ing to negotiate the channel during a breeze 
and a change of tide, their canoe, which was 
not designed for such operations, filled and 
sank under their feet, and they lost their 
lives. 



INDIAN NOTES 



ONE-MAN CANOE 


21 


E. — The " One-man Canoe" (di'tzviL) 

This is a very diminutive vessel, the 
smallest of all the Northwestern canoes. 
The term is grammatically the diminutive 
of sdMwiL (c in the diagram, pi. i). Never- 
theless, as a glance at the drawing will show, 
its hull differs somewhat in shape from that 
of its larger namesake. The di'twiL will 
carry only one person; but it is often very 
beautifully made. Specimens capsize very 
easily, but so long as they remain right-side 
up, they may be driven at high speed, and 
are light enough to be easily lifted and car- 
ried from place to place. They were used 
for fishing, and, following the introduction 
of firearms, for hunting ducks. Firing a 
shotgun over the side, however, turns the 
craft over. Bow and stern are finished off 
with very small carved pieces, which are set 
in place with the usual cedar pegs, and the 
bow carries the "notch" characteristic of the 
larger type. The canoe is rigged with 
thwarts, but the huntsman sits, not on these, 
but flat on the bottom of the boat. We may 
perhaps speak of this type as "the one- 
man canoe." 




AND MONOGRAPHS 





22 


PUGET SOUND CANOES 




F. — The " Children's Caxoe" (qe'lbid) 

The canoe pointed out under this name 
is a " double-ended" type. The Indians 
describe it as a craft with two stems. Its 
ends, which are identical in shape, are 
finished off to resemble the stern of the big 
war-canoe shown in pi. i, a. This craft, 
while not of great length, is very heavy, 
since the sides are relatively thick, and it is 
also very wide in the beam. It was used 
for the commonest purposes. Children got 
their first knowledge of the handling of 
canoes by "practising" with it. While the 
sides are not adzed down to the thinness 
which characterizes the hunter's craft, the 
vessel is nevertheless well designed in its 
own way and is much lighter and more 
manageable than a white-man's boat. It is 
worth noting that the word qe'lbid, given as 
the term for this type of boat, is the general 
word for canoe. The term dlq'e'dwlL was 
also applied to this type. We may perhaps 
speak of this form of craft as the "children's 
canoe." 




INDIAN NOTES 



1 

NATIVE TERMS 23 


NATIVE TERMS FOR THE PARTS OF 
THE CANOE 

1. Bow, cedst. 

2. Stern, i'laaq. 

3. Side, sila'Jgwil. 

A steam vessel is called u'dalgwil, 
u burning sides." 

4. Gunwale, sbbdctca'lgwil. 

5. Additional piece or section, hewn out 
separately, set on the bow, and fastened in 
place with pegs and lashing of twisted cedar, 
stL'a'lu. 

It is fastened in place with dowels or 
pegs of cedar (No. 6), and lashings of 
twisted cedar-twigs (No. 7) . 

6. Dowels or pegs used as above, 
st'A'stAd. 

This word is now used for iron nails. 

7. Cedar withes, sti'dagwAt. 

Used in fastening on the bow and stern 
sections, and in closing up cracks. 

8. Stern-piece, stiJ a'lalAp. 

Seated in place like the bow-piece, 
mentioned above. 

On the Exterior of the Hull 

9. Narrow piece projecting forward at 
the tip of the prow, bA'qsid. 




AND MONOGRAPHS 





I 

I 



24 PUGET SOUND CANOES 



The shape of the forward part of the 
bow-piece strongly suggests the head of 
some living creature. The projection 
would correspond to a snout or beak. 
The Indians say the resemblance is 
accidental. 

10. A knob or projection on the neck of 
the' canoe, about two feet below the pre- 
ceding feature, bla f lgwa\ 

This word means "navel." The Ma- 
kah call this projection the boat's uvula. 

11. Ornamentation consisting of parallel 
; lines, incised with a special tool, like a 

reamer, on the side of the neck, astcifabsnb. 

This is incised with a special tool, in 
the old days made of flint, resembling a 
reamer, This ornamentation is found 
also on the top surface of the bow-piece. 

12. Curved line of the prow, cli'bus. 

13. Cutwater, fn'kwa'psAb. 

14. A bulge or raised strip at the gunwale, 

stLaa'gw&p. 

A corresponding excavation on the 
inside of the hull is mentioned below (Xo. 
23).. 

15. Bottom, s'a'tsAp. 

16. Where the bottom turns up toward 
the gunwale to form the sides, cXxdts'a'Iadi. 

17. Sharp blade or half-keel, under the 
canoe's forefoot, sfdci'bd. 



INDIAN NOTES 



NATIVE TERMS | 25 



This acts as a "muffler." It cuts into 
the waves as the canoe forges ahead, 
without splashing. The canoe moves 
silently. 

18. Forward extremity of the half -keel, 

s'ilqs. 

On the Interior of the Hull 

19. Interior of the canoe, xuxta'ts. 

20. Where the bottom turns up to form 
the sides, wiln'ladiL. 

21. Offset where the canoe widens at the 
gunwale, stpu'tsid. 

This corresponds to the siLaa'gnAp 
(No. 14 above). 

22. Side of the canoe, i'lalgwiL. 

23. Trench leading stern ward from the 
tip of the prow, sxwo'qbus. 

24. Vertical line of the hull at the stern, 
stLkwa'-lap. 

Additional Fittings 

25. Thwarts, cxalwi'ld. 

These are round poles instead of flat 
benches, as in the canoes, of Alaska and 
in our own boats. When on a trip the 
Indians pad them with an old mat, 
folded. 



AND MONOGRAPHS 



26 



P U G E T SOUND C A N O E S 



26. Withes of twisted cedar limbs, which 
fasten the thwarts, cli'dclidgAs. 

They are rove through a perforation 
in the thwart, and then through perfor- 
ations in the side of the boat. Similar 
withes are used for mending cracks and 
in fastening the bow and stern sections 
in place (see Xo. 7 above). The present 
word refers to the way in which they 
are manipulated in fastening thwarts in 
place. 

27. Strip of wood a^ong the gunwale, 

stL'a'lalgwtL. 

This is pegged to the top surface of 
the gunwale, to where the paddles rub. 
to prevent the sides of the canoe from 
being worn. 

28. Painter, or boat rope, L^dgivi'lad. 

Used for mooring the boat, or anchor- 
ing it. 

29. Crack in the hull, actcA'x. 

30. Knot-hole, sic a' dolus (knot, stcact). 

31. ''Patched place/' stAka'lgwiL. 

When the side of a canoe is broken, a 
section is cut out bodily, a piece of plank 
being carefully shaped to fit in the space. 
This plank is fastened in place with 
cedar pegs and by "sewing" with cedar 
withes. 

32. A "long patch," sApp'a'tsgwtL. 

This term refers to a place where a 
longitudinal crack in the bottom of the 



INDIAN NOTES 



NATIVE TERMS 


27 


hull has been closed by stitching it up 
with cedar withes. 

33. Holes bored in making the canoe, to 

test the thickness of the sides, udtc\ f stAd. 

These holes are later closed by plugging 
them with round pegs of maple, which 
swells greatly on being wet. 

34. Mast, xputdale (cf. pu'tul, sail). 

Informants insist that masts and sails 
are aboriginal. Vancouver, writing in 
1792, says they are not. 

35. Step or socket for the mast, tcugwa- 
ca'gwAp. 

36. Sail, pu'iid. 

This was a " square" sail, of checker- 
work matting, and was hoisted only when 
the breeze happened to come directly 
over the stern. 

37. Upper yard, taha'Lqud. 

38. Lower yard, tLi'dAp. 

39. Paddle, xobt. 

Terms of Direction 

40. Ahead, tudzi'q™. 

41. Astern, tuxula'q™. 

42. Starboard, or right side, dzaha'lgwisa- 
pAp. 

43. Port, or left side, kala'lgwisapAp. 

44. Forward, tuca'dst (cf. cedst, bow). 




AND MONOGRAPHS 





28 

1 


PUGET SOUND CANOES 




45. Aft, tue'laq (cf. i'laaq, stern). 

46. Amidships. o'dugiviL. 

Linguistically there is evident similarly 
between certain of the words in this list, as 
shown by the following groups: 

(5) Bow-piece, stL'a'lu. 
(8) Stern-piece, stL y a'lal\p. 

(13) Cutwater, tL'kwa'psAb (cf. especial- 
ly No. 26 below). 

(14) Raised strip along gunwale, stLaa'- 
gwAp, 

(24) Vertical line at stern, stLkwa' -lap . 
(27) Strip pegged to gunwale, stL'a'lalgiaL 

(6) Dowels, or pegs, s?A?stAd. 

(33) Holes bored to test the thickness of 
the hull, udtc\'st\d. 

One is inclined to suspect the presence of 
a common suffix in the following cases: 

(12) Curved line of the prow, cli'bus. 

(23) Trench leading backward from the 
prow, sxuo'qbus. 

The presence of a suffix is obvious in the 
following cases: 

(3) Side. sila'lgwU. 


i 
i 


INDIAN NOTES 



DISTRIBUTION 29 

| 


(4) Gunwale, sbAtclca'lgwil. 
(22) Side of the canoe (interior), i'lalgwiL. 

(31) Section of plank used as a patch, 
stAka'lgwiL. 

(32) Closing of a crack by sewing, 
sApp'a'tsgwiL. 

(11) Ornamental lines, askifabsub. 
(13) Cutwater, tL'kwa'psAb. 
(15) Bottom, s'a'tsAp. 

Analysis of these expressions is not pos- 
sible at the present time. 

The terms in the above list apply espe- 
cially to the sea-going canoe. Similar words 
are applied to the other types of canoes, 
except where the corresponding parts are 
missing. 

The notch at the bow of the trolling canoe 
is simply called qa'dxu, "notch." 

DISTRIBUTION OF THE VARIOUS TYPES 

A situation with many points of interest 
exists in regard to the distribution of these 
forms of canoes. For example, on Puget 
sound we have the six types of dugout canoes, 
which have been described; in northern Cali- 




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r 



30 


PUGET SOUND CANOES 




fornia we have only one. The question at 
once suggests itself, How far southward along 
the Pacific coast does the use of six types 
of canoes extend? And, again, as we 
travel southward, do all six of the Puget 
Sound types disappear from use at once, 
being replaced by new types of craft, or are 
certain of these Puget Sound types more 
widely distributed than the others? The 
last question, I think, is the more easily 
answered. The single type which is used 
on Klamath river and on Humboldt bay in 
northern California is probably a modifica- 
tion of one of the types used on Puget 
sound — the "shovel-nose" model described 
above (pi. I, d). The appended diagram 
(pi. n) shows these two craft side by side. 
There seems to be in a general way a marked 
similarity in these canoes. They are both 
dugouts, of a " square-ended" type, and in 
each case the model has reached a high 
degree of refinement. There is a skilful 

' ' t"i "tri/^Viinrr in" r\f +T"*£* lmp»o r\f +Vi£^ /"*t*o ft 
pillLIJlIlg-lIl UI IIIC llilCb Ul LIlC CLdll 

toward the ends, and also a very graceful 
"lift" of the bottom at bow and stern. It 
may be asserted from experience that both 


INDIAN NOTES 



DISTRIBUTION 


31 


craft are very light and easily handled. The 
California canoe has no gunwale-strips, 16 and, 
moreover, it has in the stern some foot- 
braces and a seat, hewn in one piece with 
the hull, which are absent in the Puget 
Sound boat. The California boat, on the 
other hand, has no thwarts. The most 
striking difference, however, is that the 
bow and the stern of the California craft 
are crowned up into a peak, and the bow 
is further graced with a removable carven 
ornament, shaped like an inverted V. These 
differences seem superficial and underneath 
them the present writers see almost iden- 
tical lines in the two vessels. 

So much for the general resemblance. 
The facts of distribution make the idea of 
relationship much more plausible. It is 
worthy of remark that in California south 
of Humboldt bay there are no dugout canoes 
at all. Northward, however, dugouts are in 
use among all tribes as far as Puget sound. 

A/I r\ff^r\~\ Tr^y in 1 n o f^acp* /~>f catyip o f oncf /~\y i m o 
1VJ.U1 CU V Cl , 111 LllC LdbC Ol bOlilC, cLL lCdisL, K)l L11C 

intervening tribes the shovel-nose or square- 
ended type of dugout occurs. This is true 
of the tribes about Klamath lake, for in- 




AND MONOGRAPHS 





32 PUGET SOUND CANOES 



I stance, as shown by a specimen of their 
I canoes collected by Dr Barrett, now in the 
Museum of the University of California, 
j Information on this point is unsatisfactory, 
for in this intervening area few observers 
have taken the pains to note in detail what 
kinds of canoes were used. This is true of 
much of Oregon, even on the coast. Van- 
couver says of the Indians of Port Orford 
that " their canoes, calculated to carry 
about eight people, were rudely wrought 
out of a single tree; their shape much re- 
sembled a butcher's tray, and seemed very 
unfit for a sea voyage or any distant expedi- 
tion.' 717 This seems almost certainly to indi- 
cate that he saw craft of a shovel-nose 
type. We can find few other statements on 
this matter in the literature. On Columbia 
river, as shown by the statements of Boas, 18 
on the coast of Washington as illustrated by 
the photographs of Curtis, 19 on Puget 
sound and northward to an unknown dis- 
tance, as observed by the present writers, 
shovel-nose canoes are in general use. The 
bare facts, as w T e have them, seem to be 
most readily explained on the assumption 



INDIAN NOTES 



DISTRIBUTION 



33 



that one type of dugout canoe, of wide dis- 
tribution on the North Pacific, has spread 
also as far south as the Yurok and neigh- j 
boring tribes in northern California. The 
increased complexity of the design as found 
among the Yurok and their neighbors, as 
shown especially in the ornamentation, is j 
possibly explainable by the fact that these 
tribes exhibit a distinctly higher culture in 
many respects than do their neighbors to the 
south, the east, or the north. For some 
reason, in the region about the mouth of j 
Klamath river a secondary center of high 
culture has developed. It is not unlikely 
that this has produced the peculiar traits of 
their canoe. 

It is noticeable also that there seems to 
be a gradual modification of all types of 
canoes as we move southward toward Cali- 
fornia. On Puget sound, five canoes out of 
six show a lift in the gunwales toward bow 
and stern. On the coast south of the Straits 
of Juan de Fuca, as shown by the photo- 
graphs of Curtis, 20 canoes other than the 
shovel-nose have an abrupt " raise" at the 
prow, but amidships and at the stern they 



AND MONOGRAPHS 



34 



PUGET SOUND CANOES 



are "flush," the gunwales forming a straight - 
horizontal line. Apparently this arrange- 
ment might be considered as an approach 
to the California type of canoe, where the 
gunwales are perfectly flat, without any 
lift at either end. 

If our inference is correct, it is apparent 
that, as we travel southward from Columbia 
river, five of the North Pacific types become 
modified and finally cease to be used. It 
has not been possible to find any evidence 
in the literature that indicates the point 
where the distribution of any of these models 
ceases. 

The use of dugout canoes extends, of 
course, up the rivers which flow toward the 
Northwest coast. Thus the Wishram at the 
j falls of the Columbia use the "Chinook" 
model described in the present paper, and 
other dugout models besides. George Gibbs 
stated that the shovel-nose type is the only 
one used on the Columbia above The 
Dalles. 21 Curtis has one picture of a dug- 
out canoe used by the Nez Perces 22 It is of 
the shovel-nose type (though shockingly 
clumsy, heavy, and ill-made — merely a log 



INDIAN NOTES 



DISTRIBUTION 


35 


roughly shaped and somewhat hollowed 
out). Chamberlain states 23 that the Koo- 
tenay have a dugout type of craft, of what 
shape we do not know. It seems to be 
impossible to trace in detail the distribu- 
tion of the shovel-nose in this direction 
on the basis of any material now in print. 
We may speak with certainty, therefore, 
only of the region immediately about 
Seattle, where the present authors have had 
a chance to make observations. In this 
vicinity the only type of canoe used on the 
upper courses of the streams is the shovel- 
nose. 

Concerning the distribution, in a north- 
erly direction, of these types of canoes, little 
can be said at the present time. As re- 
marked above, the Kwakiutl use in place 
of the ao'txs, a great sea-going canoe of 
somewhat different and more complicated 
model, and much more elaborately orna- 
mented. 

The evolution of canoes probably took 
place among the people somewhat north- 
ward of Puget Sound peoples, whose general 
level of culture is higher. Going southward 




AND MONOGRAPHS 





36 


PUGETSOUND CANOES 




from the Kwakiutl, say, canoes are steadily 
less and less specialized, until we come to the 
tribes of northern California with their one 
model. South of the California tribes just 
mentioned, these influences are not appar- 
ent at all. Concerning the canoes of the 
coast north of the Kwakiutl, we can get at 
the present time no information. It is not 
known whether several types are in use, or 
only one. The pictures of Curtis, which 
might tell the story, are not nearly so useful 
as they are in other cases, since he photo- 
graphed very few canoes in this area; possibly 
because he found so much else to picture. 

CONCLUSIONS 

The situation as regards canoes in the 
area under discussion may be essentially 
like that respecting types of pottery in the 
Southwest, as presented by Nelson. 24 He 
has shown in a most interesting way that 
the archaic types of pottery are also the 
types with the widest distribution. As we 
pass from center to periphery of the cul- 
tural region which he discusses, we en- 
counter types of pottery which are more 




INDIAN NOTES 



CONCLUSIONS 



and more primitive. One striking differ- 
ence between Nelson's- problem and the 
present one is that a great mass of evidence 
has been assembled in the Southwest, while 
in regard to canoes on the Northwest coast 
the data are largely lacking. Another dif- 
ference is that Nelson carried out extensive 
investigations in the field, while the present 
discussion is based largely on scattered ref- 
erences in the literature. Nelson's conclu- 
sions, to be brief, are based on knowledge 
and facts, while our own must be in the last 
degree inferential. 

The idea seems plausible, however, that 
the original type of canoe on the Northwest 
coast was the shovel-nose. Several con-* 
siderations point in this direction. The 
shovel-nose is the simplest model. This 
raises a logical presumption that it may 
well be the oldest. It is associated with 
rivers, being of use only in streams and 
other quiet water. This also suggests that 
it may represent an early type. It may be 
regarded as certain that the first man or 
the first group who experimented with navi- 
gation on the North Pacific coast, experi- 



AND MONOGRAPHS 



r 



38 PUGET SOUND CANOES 

| . : 

mented on the rivers, and not on the high 
seas. This would seem to imply that the 
river craft would be the first to reach per- 
fection. The sea-going ' k Chinook" type, 
and models showing points of similarity to 
it, are in all human probability later in 
origin. When we consider the distribution 
of the various types of canoes, we emerge 
for a moment from the jungle of speculation 
into the field of evidence, though that evi- 
dence is scanty. It is a fact that the shovel- 
nose type of canoe is of wider distribution 
than the other types. It is the only type 
found in the marginal regions to the east 
and south of the area of typical North 
Pacific Coast culture. Thus is raised the 
presumption that it represents an older 
type of craft than do the other models. 

The connection between northern Cali- 
fornia and the North Pacific area, which 
seems to be exemplified in the distribution of 
dugout canoes, is also a matter of some im- 
portance. Ultimately it will doubtless be 
proved by a careful comparison, in the two 
areas, of houses, geographical notions, 
money and financial institutions, and other 



INDIAN NOTES 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 


39 


1 

matters, that the mode of life of the tribes 
in extreme northern California is a direct 
offshoot of the type of culture found in the 
Northwest. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Boas, Franz 

1889 First general report on the Indians of 
British Columbia. In Report of the 
Committee appointed for the purpose 
of investigating . . . the north- 
western tribes of the Dominion of 
Canada. Report of the Fifty-ninth 
meeting of the British Association for 
the Advancement of Science, held . . . 
in... 1889, pp. 801-803. [Deals 
with the Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian, 
and Kootenay.] 

1890 Second general report on the Indians 
of British Columbia. Same series as 
above. Report of the Sixtieth meeting, 
held . . .in . . . 1890, pp. 562-715. 
[Deals with the Nootka, Salish, and 
Kwakiutl.] 

1895 Fifth report on the Indians of British 
•Columbia. Same series as above. 

Report of the Sixty-fifth meeting, held 
. . . in. . . m 1895, pp. 523-592. 
[Deals with the Tinneh of Nicola valley, 
Ts'Ets'a/ut, and Nisk-a of Nass river.] 

1896 Sixth report on the Indians of British 
Columbia. Same series as above. 

T) l. 1 J" j 7. C ' 1 • i 7 . • • 7 7 7 

Report of the btxty-sixth meeting, held 




AND MONOGRAPHS 





40 i PUGET SOUND CANOES 

I 



... in:.. 1896, pp. 569-591. _ [Deals 
with the Kwakiutl and Tsimsliian.] 

1909 The Kwakiutl of Vancouver island. 
Memoirs of the American Museum of 
Natural History: vol. viii, pt. 2 (reprint 
from Publications of the Jesup North 
Pacific Expedition, vol. v, pt. 2). 
Chamberlain. A. F. 

1892 Report on the Kootenay Indians of 
southeastern British Columbia. In 
Report of the Committee appointed to 
investigate . . . the northwestern 
tribes of the Dominion of Canada. 
Report of the Sixty-second meeting of 
the British Association for the Advance- 
ment of Science held . . . in ... 1892, 
pp. 549-615. 
! Cook, James 

1784 A vo} age to the Pacific ocean . 

for making discoveries in the northern 
hemisphere . . . performed by Cap- 
tains Cook, Clarke, and Gore, in his 
Majesty's ship the Resolution and 
Discovery, in the years 1776, 1777. 
1778, 1779 and 1780. In three vol- 
umes (London), 
j Curtis, Edward S. 

1907-1916 The North American- Indian 
. . . being a series of volumes picturing 
and describing the Indians of the 
United States and Alaska. In twenty 
volumes. [Eleven volumes published 
up to the present time.] 
Glebs, George 

1855 Report on the Indian tribes of the 



I N D I A N NOTES 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 



Territory of Washington. Pacific Rail- 
road Report, vol. i, pp. 402-436, 
Washington, D. C. 
1877 Tribes of western Washington and 
northwestern Oregon. Department of 
the Interior, U. S. Geographical and 
Geological Survey of the Rocky Moun- 
tain Region. Contributions to North 
American Ethnology, vol. i, pp. 103- 
241. 

Lewis, Albert Buell 

1906 Tribes of the Columbia valley and the 
coast of Oregon and Washington. 
Memoirs of the American Anthropologi- 
cal Association, vol. I, pt. 2. 
Lewis and Clark 

1904 Original Journals of the Lewis and 
Clark expedition, 1804-1806, printed 
from the original manuscript . . . 
Edited ... by Reuben Gold 
Thwaites, New York . 
Nelson, N. C. 

1919 Human Culture. Natural Hist cry, 
New York, vol. xix, no. 2, pp. 131-140. 
NlBLACK, A. P. 

1890 The Coast Indians of southern Alaska 
and northern British Columbia. 
Smithsonian Institution, Report of the 
U. S. National Museum, for 188S, 
Washington. 
Swan, James G. 

1857 The Northwest coast; or, Three years 
residence in Washington Territory. 
New York. (Harper.) 
1868 The Indians of Cape Flattery at the 




AND MONOGRAPHS 





42 


PUGET SOUND CANOES 




entrance to the Strait of Fuca, Wash- 
ington Territory. Smithsonian Insti- 
tution, Contributions to Knowledge, No. 
220. 

Vancouver, George 

1798 A voyage of discovery to the North 
Pacific ocean and round the world 
. . . performed in the years 1791- 
1792, 1793, 1794, and 1795 in the Dis 
coverv Sloop-of-War, and the armed 
tender Chatham . . . In three volumes 
London. 

NOTES 

1. Boas, 1888, 1890, 1905-1909; Swan, 1868; 
Niblack, 1890; Gibbs, 1855; Curtis, 1907-1916: 
vols, vm-xi and folios. Of the earlier authors. 
Cook, 1784, vol. ii, p. 327; Vancouver, 1798; 
and Lewis and Clark, 1904, vol. rv, give valu- 
able data. For references, see the bibliography. 

2. Smithsonian Institution, Bureau of Amer- 
ican Ethnologv, Bulletin 30. 

3. 1904, vol. iv 3 pp. 31, 35. 

4. 1889, p. 817; 1890, pp. 565, 566; also a 
remark quoted by A. B. Lewis, 1906, p. 163. 

5. 1855, p. 430; 1877, p. 216. 

6. 1857. dd. 79, 80. 

7. 1890, " P : 294. 

8. 1907-1916. vol. ix r p. 60. 

9. See especially 1890,* p. 817, with figures. 

10. 1904, p. 30. 

11. Boas, 1890, p. 566. 

12. Boas, 1890, p. 566; see also Curtis, 
1907-1916, vol. x, Folio, pi. 345. 

13. 1890, p. 295. 




INDIAN NOTES 



NOTES 


43 


14. 1889, p. 817. 

15. The corresponding class of craft is called 
sue' quail among the Songish, and is styled by 
Boas the "small fishing canoe." 

16. See above, p. 26. 

17. 1798, vol. i, p. 204. 

18. Quoted by A. B. Lewis, 1906, p. 163, as 
noted above. 

19. 1907-1916, vol. vm. 

20. For example, 1907-1916, vol. ix, p. 98. 

21. 1877, p. 215. 

22. 1907-1916, vol. vm, p. 46. 

23. 1892, p. 566. 

24. 1919, pp. 113-136. 


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AND MONOGRAPHS 





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